About Us

A2A Safaris introduced the African safari to Asia and over a decade later we unveil our handcrafted luxury journeys to Latin America and Antarctica.

Since opening our doors in 2002, A2A Safaris has grown and we now have offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila and New York City. We also have representatives in China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as in Paris, Santa Fe and Cape Town.

After introducing the luxury African safari to Asia in 2002, A2A Journeys is the second chapter in A2A Safaris' own journey.

A2A Safaris' founders Jose Cortes and Victor Dizon began laying the foundation for A2A Journeys many years ago and slowly but surely they acquired an intimate knowledge of the continent and its vibrant cities, its wild places and rich cultures, and a strong passion for another continent was ignited.

A2A Journeys specialises in bespoke, luxury trips to Latin America as well as small and intimate cruises to Antarctica. Led by Claire Betts, A2A's Head of Latin America and her deep understanding of the continent, we work with a carefully curated portfolio of luxury hotels and properties and handpicked specialist guides across the continent's most pristine wilderness areas and its the most vibrant and colorful cities.

We offer a personal touch and specialise in a highly individualised service. Our clientele consists of business owners and entrepreneurs, senior executives, professionals, honeymooners and retirees who are keen to go on an exciting 'adventure' without sacrificing their creature comforts. For most people, a trip to Latin America or Antarctica is a once in a lifetime experience and our clients know we are always ready to go the extra mile for them and their families.

We don't take a one-size fits all approach. We offer full flexibility when planning a trip. Every single A2A journey is designed with our clients' preferences in mind including the length of their holiday, the type of scenery, culture, wildlife, food and wine and other experiences they are after, who they are travelling with, and of course their budgets.

We look forward to sharing our passion for Latin America and Antarctica with our clients and travelers in Asia.

Our Team

Our Team

Co-founder

Jose Cortes

Jose cut his teeth in the jungles of Wall Street and eventually hung up his gloves as managing director of a global investment bank in Asia. He is a keen photographer, usually documenting the forests, deserts and windswept plains of Central Africa, South America, South Asia and into and around otherwordly Antarctica. When not out exploring and researching new destinations for A2A's clients, he spends his time around Asia and in Cape Town with his wife Kitty and their hounds Bella and Lucca.

Co-founder

Victor Dizon

Victor is an ex-investment banker who has lived and worked in the US, Europe and Asia. He has always had a passion for travel and that is what led him to co-found A2A Safaris. He travels to Latin America regularly with friends and family.

General Manager

Faith Coetzee

Faith began her career nearly 20 years ago as a travel consultant at one of Africa’s renowned safari companies. She now calls Hong Kong home where she moved in 2004 to gain international work experience while immersing herself in Asia’s historical and cultural scene. While working in Hong Kong for a leading destination management company Faith’s sales and marketing position took her frequently to parts of Europe, the States and Asia. Apart from travelling, she loves hiking the challenging trails around Hong Kong. Some of her favourite memories include spotting the elusive leopard on safari and watching the sunrise over the Gobi desert on camel safari.

Head of Latin America

Claire Betts

Claire's passion for Latin America was awakened when at the age of 12 her father was relocated to the Dominican Republic and she fell in love with the vibrant, colourful nation. Hooked on the region, she travelled through Central America and spent time volunteering in Ecuador. Later, she found her home in the north of Chile where she lived for two years. Claire worked for a leading Latin America tour operator in the UK for six years, travelling from Mexico down to Patagonia, exploring the Andes, Amazon and most bits in between. She loves using her knowledge to work together with A2A's clients to design their perfect trip.

Senior Travel Consultant

Michael Scott

From an early age, Michael would spend hours poring over the family atlas planning his future travel plans - and travel he did! He has visited over 85 countries as well as having lived in Melbourne, Tokyo, Madrid, New York and now Hong Kong. In all his travels, it is the unique and diverse experiences to be had in Latin America and Africa which have really captured his imagination, and sees him returning to time and time again. This passion for travel has extended to his love of designing tailored made, bespoke travel experiences for his clients, whether they be street food tours in Peru and Mexico, authentic cultural exchanges in Bolivia, or horse riding safaris in Kenya.

Senior Travel Consultant

Cherine Lum

Senior A2A Consultant Cherine has worked in the corporate world for many years before turning her passion in travel into a career. She has travelled extensively around the globe and loves the experience of seeing new places and understanding diverse cultures. Cherine enjoys planning custom holidays and is eager to create memorable experiences for her clients.

Sales Supervisor Singapore

Nellie Leow

From a young age, family travel to lands far and near were an annual ritual which piqued Nellie's interest in venturing and discovering new places. Determined to uncover more, she specialised in Tourism Management and joined the travel industry where she enjoys enhancing holiday experiences of fellow travelers. A trip to Botswana opened her eyes and heart to the colours and creatures of Africa. Since then she has trekked to observe mountain gorillas in Uganda, witnessed a lunar rainbow at Victoria Falls, glamped in Serengeti and rubbed noses with giraffes in Nairobi.

Travel Consultant

Yessa Caparas

An ex-fashion buyer, entrepreneur and indoor cycling instructor when she’s not designing trips, Yessa is not one to shy away from adventure and pursuing the road less taken. Her philosophy in travel is to get out of your comfort zone, with luxury and style.

Travel Consultant

Chelsea Kurata

Growing up in Qatar, Japan, and UK, traveling has been a part of Chelsea's life ever since she can remember. After working for a travel agency in Japan and chasing winters in Canada, Australia and Japan, she has moved to Singapore to pursue her passion of traveling through a career at A2ASafaris. She truly enjoys assisting her clients in turning their dream holiday into a real holiday.

Travel Consultant

Carmen Fawaz

Carmen has many years of experience crafting trips to Latin America for the European market. "Let us create this unique journey for you and your family, and you will want to discover more next time! And for the connoisseurs, just enjoy the moment again, together with nature." Carmen is currently based in Paris.

Head of Marketing

Kelly Bogaert

Kelly grew up in Singapore and has lived and worked in both Europe and Asia where she brings with her almost fifteen years of marketing and business development experience in lifestyle, art and fashion. Kelly has always had a passion for travel and adventure as well as an affinity with foreign continents like South America and now Africa, which is why she jumped on the opportunity to join A2A Safaris in order to know more and connect with these magical territories. Also a big animal lover, Kelly loves to be exposed to conservation causes, which she happily gets to support and market as part of her role. She’s fluent in almost five languages and aside from travelling, she loves long nature walks, cultural experiences, horse riding and music.

Creative Director

Tracie Anglo Dizon

An art director, artist, Latin America afficionado and former Manhattanite, Tracie thought New York City was the center of the universe, until she went on a honeymoon safari to Africa with her husband. As A2A's creative director, she still wears black, but never on safari.

Travel Ambassador

Penny Katigbak

A banker in her past life, Penny took a break from her fast-paced lifestyle to re-assess what career she wanted to pursue. Her passion was to talk about her travels - how she is captivated with history and culture, inspired by beautiful sceneries and just happy to experience the vibe amidst locals. The opportunity to share her enthusiasm in helping friends and family plan trips of a lifetime always enlivens her.

Travel Ambassador

Jeremy Sy

Jeremy is A2A's bachelor businessman cum travel junkie and foodie. Passionate about his restaurants and other enterprises, he says there is nothing he loves better than seeing his clients' faces light up when they come back from their trips.

Travel Ambassador

Rob Henares

It took Rob 12 long years to realize that he belongs to the great outdoors and not in the concrete jungle of the corporate world. A safari experience is like eating a box of chocolates... you never know what you’re gonna get.

Managing Partner New York

Edwin Gayla

Edwin was an avid client of A2A Safaris before joining the team in 2013 and he is spearheading its expansion into New York City where he has lived for over 20 years with his wife and daughter. Like Jose and Victor, he has traded Wall Street for wildlife. Previously voted by institutional investors as a top-ranked equity salesperson, Edwin’s new goal is to be a top-ranked safari specialist!

Travel Consultant

Nicole Fernandez

Nicole’s lifelong passion for globetrotting began early. As the daughter of a diplomat, Nicole was brought up living and traveling between the US, Brazil and Portugal. After graduating with a degree in Environmental Biology she spent a semester in Kenya where she was involved in a sustainable wildlife research program. Since then Nicole has devoted almost 2 decades to creating life changing journeys for her clients to Africa and Latin America. She lives and breathes safaris and travel to wild places and has a diehard loyal following of clients (now friends) because of her highly personalized, detailed and knowledgeable style.

Travel Consultant

Lieze Engelbrecht

Lieze joined the A2A team with a slate of diverse work experiences and was ultimately drawn to eco-tourism because of her passion for nature and exploring new places. A native of Cape Town, Lieze looks forward to planning unforgettable safari experiences for clients, and hopes that they enjoy the magnificent wildlife and breathtaking views that her home continent has to offer. Lieze has traveled around the United States and currently lives in New York, a city she loves for its vibrant culture and diverse culinary scene.

Head of Booking and Reservations

Marc Marcelo

Marc has been working at A2A Safaris since early 2013 and it’s been a blast. Travelling and football are two of his passions. However, he's no Lionel Messi so he did the smart thing and chose the travel industry instead!

Booking and Reservations

Paula Karunungan

I’m an aspiring traveller who wants to explore the world. I want to know and experience different cultures, food and places for adventures. I believe that every place we go has hidden gems that they want us to unravel. I have the passion and love for travel because it give us the opportunity to live our life to the fullest. And I believe that you need to fill your life with adventures and not things.

Booking and Reservations

Patricia Decuzar

Born and raised in Manila, Pat is keen on digital arts like photography and graphic design. She's not only passionate about arts but also in travel. She pursued a degree in Travel and Tourism Management for her to understand and widen her knowledge of the industry. Pat is also an adventure seeker who finds travelling as a form of relaxation and releasing negative vibes. She believes that travelling is one of the few things you can buy that can make you richer.

Booking and Reservations

Karel Ijeda

To travel the world has been one of my biggest dreams since my teenage years. To explore God's breath-taking creations and to help others visit paradise like Latin America and Africa is a source of great satisfaction for me.

Booking and Reservations

Maribeth Vidal

Being in the travel industry for 7 years before joining A2A Safaris, Maribeth developed a passion for travel, food and culture. She loves discovering new places and meeting new people. She believes that to travel is to learn.

Booking and Reservations

Laarni Collantes

Laarni grew up in a family who worked in the airline and travel industry. Inspired by the people around her, she pursued and attained a degree in Bachelors of Science in Tourism Management. She shares a passion for travel with her family, exploring different places together and growing their relationship through travel. She also loves music and musical instruments as these keep her calm and relaxed.

Head of Finance and Admin

Mark Raquinio

A2A's resident CPA, Mark is always mesmerized everytime he watches wildlife in their natural habitat showcasing their survival skills. And being with A2A gives him an extra ordinary shot of adrenaline as merging work and encounters with wildlife and other stunning gifts of nature is such a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Finance and Administration

Lean Alcantara

In line with her dream to become a successful Accountant, Lean has an intimate passion for nature. One of her ways to loosen up after engaging to the outside world is to find peace in nature. She's best at this and wants her family and friends to experience the same. She thirsts for more adventure with nature and thinks that there are more to see and explore. She strongly believes that nature in not just a place to visit, it is home.

Why Us?

Knowledge & Experience

We have extensive knowledge and first-hand experience gained from planning our own trips to all the major destinations in Latin America since 1999. Our founders, our Latin America Head and our travel consultants have travelled the length of the continent - from Mexico to Argentina/Chile and the sub-Antarctic Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula - and have arranged bespoke trips for hundreds of our clients in Asia.

Convenience

We are headquartered in Asia with a presence in most of its major cities. We offer our clients the convenience of dealing with a local company in the same country or time zone. We are familiar with the specific needs of our Asia-based clientele, such as visa requirements and optimal flight routes and current conditions in Central and South America, including weather, politics and wildlife movements. We understand client concerns from an Asian perspective, such as safety, sanitation and hygiene, as well as shopping and dining. We also offer a one-stop shop service for all aspects of our trips, including extensions to far flung destinations such as the Galapagos Islands, Easter Island and Antarctica.

Latin America and Antarctica Specialists

We specialise in Latin America and Antarctica (and Africa through A2A Safaris) and we are very familiar with the products and services we recommend. We have been to all of the hotels and properties in our portfolio numerous times and during different seasons, so we know all these properties intimately. We keep up to date – on a daily basis – on developments in the various countries, cities, islands, oceans and hotels, vessels and other properties in our portfolio. We always continue to scout for new destinations and experiences for our clients, at the same time strengthening our longstanding relationships with key players around the continent.

Competitive Pricing

Given the complexity of organising a high quality trip, we provide FREE expertise and advice to our clients, drawing on almost two decades of experience in planning and arranging bespoke trips. We are independent and are therefore not obligated to recommend certain lodges and hotels, allowing us to concentrate on building the best possible experiences for our clients. Due to our strong links with our partners our clients benefit from our favourable rates and our access to promotions.

Our Partners

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We do not subscribe to the ‘one-size-fits-all’ philosophy. Sample itineraries and cost estimates are meant purely as a guide. To find out more, please contact one of our expert travel consultants to plan a customized itinerary based on your budget and interests.